‘Tushar Deshpande bowled in a fearless manner’:Dale Steyn claims, ‘Indian selectors won’t take their yes off him this season’

Tushar Deshpande proved to the difference between Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals as Riyan’s Parag clinched a thrilling victory on Saturday. The win not only helped RR retain their top spot in the IPL standings, the manner of the win will also instill confidence in the team given how bold call it was from Parag to give the ball to Deshpande. Tushar ended up defending 10 runs in the final over by nailing inch-perfect yorkers. Former South Africa legend and Jiostar expert Dale Steyn speaking on Star Sports’ ‘Amul Cricket Live’ highlighted Deshpande’s performances will make the Indian selectors take notice. Also read: WATCH | Rohit Sharma tricks Kuldeep Yadav into taking DRS Tushar Deshpande bowled in a fearless manner “The final over bowled by Tushar Deshpande was exceptional. He executed his Yorkers perfectly under pressure, did not give any chances to a player like Rashid Khan to find the boundary and he ensured his team did not suffer any hiccups in the final over of a 200-plus run chase,” Steyn said. He added, “It is very difficult for a bowler to stay calm in such a high-pressure situation because a lot of things go through your mind. But, to ensure your plans are executed perfectly without feeling the pressure is a rare skill. Tushar bowled four inch-perfect Yorkers, then he changed his line and delivered the length ball and by doing that, he baited Rashid Khan into hitting a big shot on that delivery and he ended up getting caught on the boundary line.” The legendary pacer continued, “Wonderful display of game sense. Tushar Deshpande bowled in a fearless manner and this bowling performance will ensure that the Indian selectors don’t take their eyes off him this IPL season.” Also read: Sameer Rizvi’s 90 propels DC to 6 wicket win ‘RR looking like a different team’ Last season, Rajasthan Royals were unable to win matches, losing by close margins. They collapsed under pressure, failing to get over the line, but after winning the cracker-jacker of the contest against GT, Steyn said the inaugural season’s champions look like a different team this season. “This match between GT and RR is easily the best game of TATA IPL 2026. In the latter half of the season, when the playoff spots will be decided, GT will look at this match and wonder how many opportunities they had to win it. But they did not capitalize and let the match slip away. RR are going to be really happy with this win. Their last victory against CSK, they did not have to work hard to secure it. But here against GT, the match went down to the final over and RR were forced to do everything they could to seal the win,” said Steyn He further added, “Last season, Rajasthan had a heartbreaker of an IPL season. They lost matches by small margins. They missed out on golden opportunities to seal the win. They could not convert the chances into victories. But this season, RR is looking like a different team.”